Related Galleries

What does it mean to be a superhero in today’s age of 24-hour news cycles and ceaseless “celebrity” coverage? That’s the question behind Kimba McG’s MediAvengers project, a series of painstakingly constructed covers, spreads, and news articles from the Marvel cinematic universe.

McG has constructed an incredibly thorough media landscape for the Marvel cinematic universe, from tabloids speculating on the sex habits of the Avengers, to scientific journals featuring the cutting-edge work of Jane Foster and Maya Hansen. In just over a year, McG has designed around 120 covers and spreads for almost 50 publications–and the sum is a surprisingly believable intersection of superhero fantasy and modern media culture.

But MediAvengers goes beyond fan fiction; ultimately, its subject is less the superheroes on the covers than a biting satire of the real world’s deeply dysfunctional celebrity culture. “I think once you’re famous, celebrity media feels like it owns you, regardless of whether you’re an entertainer, politician, or someone heroic (or for that matter, someone who underwent horrific suffering),” McG says. “Once people are talking about you, there is no more privacy.”

The subject of secret versus public identity is a common motif in superhero comics, but technology and social media have changed what those things mean. “The advent of camera phones, the internet, and instant sharing, would make it next to impossible for the public not to figure out that Captain America is Steve Rogers,” says McG. “Every time a new hero appears, the resulting media circus would be overwhelming, not just on our newsstands, but also for the person whose every move is being photographed by bystanders.”

Her aim with the blog, she says, is to make people uncomfortable: “A lot of what I do is fan service, but even those pieces aimed at ’shippers are also intended to make viewers think twice. I want them to laugh, too, but ultimately part of my aim is to highlight not just how we theoretically may treat superheroes in popular media, but also everyday celebrities here in the real world.”

In addition to carefully duplicating publications’ styles, design, and tone (we’re frankly pretty impressed with how well she nailed WIRED), McG works hard to build a cohesive and credible narrative, incorporating actual headlines and blurbs, tying coverage to contemporary real-world events, and considering factors like censorship and P.R. spin. In one particularly dizzying feat of metanarrative, she’s chronicled the development of two feature films based on the events of The Avengers—a political thriller directed by David Fincher, and a high-budget action flick helmed by Michael Bay.

This isn’t the first time someone has looked at the Marvel universe through the lens of popular journalism—there’ve been a few official series that took that approach, and Daily Bugle articles are a common enough backup feature in Marvel books—but MediAvengers is, frankly, the best we’ve seen. Whether or not you’re a fan of the franchises it’s based on, it’ll make you laugh—and, more important, it’ll make you think.

Here’s The Thing With Ad Blockers

We get it: Ads aren’t what you’re here for. But ads help us keep the lights on. So, add us to your ad blocker’s whitelist or pay $1 per week for an ad-free version of WIRED. Either way, you are supporting our journalism. We’d really appreciate it.